Match Statistics: Arsenal 0-1 Olympiac
For the second time this week, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s time was slightly off.
Arsenal captain back in favor against Olympiac Dropped due to late rise against Tottenham, But Gabon international looked like he was still off the pace.
Aubameyang endured a miserable night in front of goal, missing several great chances to put the game on their side and cruising it to the Europa League quarter-finals.
Instead it had to endure another nervous evening against the Greek champions in North London as it trailed 8–2 overall despite losing 1-0 on the night.
“I hope he doesn’t, we’ve gone through that,” Mikel Arteta said after the game whether the captain still held his head in consideration of what had happened the previous weekend.
“He started the game and we hope he performs at his level when he plays.”
Olympiacos stunned Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium and it has been over a year since their exit from the competition to reach the first knockout stage.
Memories of that dramatic evening have been fresh in everyone’s mind as this season’s draw once again linked the two sides together, but Arsenal’s 3–1 win in Greece last week ensured that this time it was somewhere There was more buffer.
And with the Gunners needing it, the visitors threatened to return when the winning goal scorer Yusuf al-Arabi last season gave the Olympians a 1-0 start in the second half.
But it was just as good for the visitors, who never really looked to add to their lead in the closing stages.
A win over two legs would fix some stains for Arsenal and ensure that it reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League for the third time in four seasons.
But it was not very good, when trying to watch a game, Arteta once again showed how much it was struggling.
And the Gunners boss knows that things should improve if they are going to progress through the later stages of the competition.
“I am happy because we were happy during the last year,” he said. “But if I have to evaluate the performance, what we have done with the ball today is not near the standards that we set ourselves and we have made it really hard.
“When you take away the amount of balls that we did, you don’t have the control to manage the tie exactly the way you need it. And that also relates to the amount of missed opportunities we have again. “
Arsenal completely lost their way in the final 15 minutes against Spurs last weekend and threw the game dominating almost completely.
Arteta admitted after that match that his side had managed the “really, really badly” closing stages and asked their players to avoid similar mistakes against Olympiacs.
But when El-Arabi gave Olympiak an edge on the night, it was a case of the same old story for Arsenal.
It just couldn’t hold a grip on the game and, although it never really looked like a win again, Arteta is well aware that if he has to go ahead and win the competition his side will have to make extensive improvements.
“We’re really glad we’re through it,” he said. This is another step as a team. Hopefully we can learn some lessons as well.
“We have beaten two good teams in Benfica and Olympiacus, but next I will be tough too.”
It was not that the arsenal was unlikely to calm the nerves. In fact it had a lot to offer, but a series of terrible memories ensured that the game was far more stressful than that.
Aubameyang was the main culprit, missing a golden opportunity in the half, and seeing another close range put on by Olympiac keeper Jose Sa.
Nicholas Pepe should have scored as well, and one incident, when his round-goal shot deflected after hitting Emil Smith Rowe in the face, collapsed on Arsenal night.
They made it more difficult than they should have been. But the important thing is that the Gunners are still alive to fight the other day.
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